On February 27, 2017, it was announced that guitar teacher Petar Kodzas was named Associate Dean of the Eastman Community Music School (ECMS). “I am deeply honored to have an opportunity to contribute to [Rochester’s] musical future through my role as an Associate Dean” Kodzas says. His vision for the future is to make music more relevant. Growing the ECMS programs and keeping them healthy and successful, Kodzas’ hope is to find new ways to involve more people in music making and music listening.
Why is Petar Kodzas the right man for the right job? In an interview with WXXI, he explains and recounts some of his own personal musical history.
At the very foundation of Petar’s passion for music is community. “If I go back and say, ‘why do I want to do this’ or ‘what made me do this’, I think it was that communal feel that we all kind of belong together to something that is beyond age and beyond professional musicians.”
Born into a family of musicians in Belgrade, Serbia, music was what brought Petar’s family together. He learned at a young age that music could foster community.
Kodzas actually began his music career on the piano, and was a teenager when he switched to guitar. “I really think the transition from the piano to the guitar was because of the social aspect… you couldn’t just bring your piano with you and sit in some field and make music” Kodzas says. “Guitar wasn’t defining me, but I was really defined by its portability.” With this new found freedom, Kodzas was able to bring community with him.
From traveling performances in the former Yugoslavian countryside to performing all over the city of Rochester, Petar Kodzas’ passion is bringing people together through music. “I would like for everybody to understand how important music is and to start looking at musicians and music as something that everyone can be involved in. It’s not a matter of how proficient you are, you can learn. It’s not a matter of how old you are, you can learn, and if you are not inclined to be involved in music as a performer, then try to listen and open your mind and open your ears.”
The core philosophy at the heart of the ECMS is the belief that music is not only an essential part of a quality education, but also a powerful contributor to quality of life. Founded in 1921, George Eastman created the school specifically for the enrichment of the residents of greater Rochester with the expectation that this experience should be available to everyone, regardless of age, musical background or ability to pay.
At the end of Petar Kodzas’ interview with WXXI, Kodzas was asked for closing remarks. If his audience were to take away one thing, it would be “for everybody to be able to experience that moment when you transcend who you are, your age and what you do to be in this place where beauty matters. This world needs beauty and [music] can help us in so many ways; bridging gaps of diversity and bringing more people together at the same table. Making our souls richer through music- that is the ultimate goal.”
The words carved on the front of the Eastman Theatre state, “for the enrichment of community life”. With this position now filled, I think the ECMS has found the right man for the right job.
